opened the port-hole of his cabin. Ho Chang's ship was touching his
own, and the port-hole opposite to him was open. Elegant appeared
there, and their eyes met. Surprised, delighted and embarrassed, they
smiled, as if they had known each other for a long time. They would
gladly have spoken, but were afraid of being heard. Then she made a
small sign to him, retired quickly into her cabin, and rapidly wrote
some words on a piece of paper ornamented with sprays of rose peach.
She rolled it in a silk handkerchief and cleverly threw it to Ya-nei,
who caught it in both hands. They saluted each other, and reclosed
their port-holes.
He unfolded the handkerchief and smoothed out the crinkled leaf. It
bore this poem:
Brocade characters are on this paper of flowers,
And the bowels of my sorris in this embroidery,
I have dreamed of a prince
And, carried upon a cloud, I come to him.
But there was also a little word or two added:
"This evening your submissive mistress will await you near the lamp.
The noise of my scissors will be the signal for our happiness, and of
our meeting."
Beyond himself with joy, the lad hastened to take a leaf of golden
paper and wrote out a poem on it. Then he took off his embroidered
silken girdle, rolled it all together, and opened his port-hole.
Elegant had also opened hers; she received the small packet and at
once concealed it in her sleeve, for she heard the slaves approaching.
These were followed by her mother. At last the time came for her
father to cross to the other ship for the return feast given by Wu.
Full of cunning, the maiden took a vessel brimming with liquor and
gave it to her slaves, who eyed the gift as a thirsty dragon looks
upon water. They were half-drunk when Ho Chang came back from the
feast, and Elegant told them to go to bed, and that she would do some
needle-work. As their faces were red, their ears burning and their
legs unsteady, they were only too glad to retire; and soon their
snores were heard over the ship. Little by little all other sounds
died away in both the junks. Then she gently knocked on her port-hole
with her scissors.
Naturally Ya-nei was waiting for the signal; as soon as he heard it,
his body was as if it had been shaken to pieces. However, he softly
opened his shutter, stepped from one ship to the other, and glided
into the cabin where the maiden awaited him. She gave him formal
greeting, which he returned; but they looked at each other under the
lamp, and their passion already raged like fire. They could hardly
exchange a word, and Ya-nei's trembling hands were undoing. She
offered but very feeble resistance. He ardently embraced her, and with
his arms joined himself to the fresh breast that lighted him.
At last they were able to speak. She told him of her dream, and of
her astonishment on recognizing, in his poem, the verses which she had
heard him sing in dream. He turned pale and sat down:
"My dream was exactly yours. Before these omens are fulfilled, I shall
speak to my father to arrange our marriage."
But, even as they talked, they silently fell asleep arm in arm.
Now about the middle of the night, the wind fell and the river became
calmer. At the fifth watch the sailors untied their moorings and began
to haul their anchors, singing at their work. The noise awakened the
lovers, who heard the men say:
"The ship catches the wind rarely. We shall not be long in getting to
Ch'i-Chow."
They looked at each other in dismay:
"What are we going to do now?"
"Hush!" said she. You must remain hidden for the moment. We will at
last find a plan."
"It is our dream come true."
Remembering that the slaves had seen her lover's feet in her dream,
Elegant leaned forward and covered them carefully with an ample
blanket. At last she said:
"I have a plan. During the day you must hide under the couch, and I
shall pretend to be ill, and keep in bed, or in the cabin. When we
reach Ch'i-Chow, I will give you a little money, and you must escape
in the confusion of the disembarkation. You shall rejoin your parents,
and we will arrange for our marriage. If, by any chance, my parents
were to refuse, we should tell the truth. My family has always loved
me excessively; they will certainly accede."
As soon as they had determined on their course, Ya-nei slid under the
bed, and made himself a place among the baggages. The curtain fell
into place in front of him, and the young girl was still in bed when
her mother came in, saying:
"Aya! Why are you resting like this?"
"I do not feel very well. I must have taken cold."
"Cover yourself well, my daughter, if that be so."
At this moment a slave entered, asking if she should bring breakfast.
"My child," said her mother, "if you are not well, you would do
better not to take any solid nourishment. I am going to make you an
occasional small rice broth until you are recovered."
"I am not very fond of broth. Give me some rice. Let them bring it to
me here. I shall eat it by and by."
"I will keep you company."
"Aya! If you do not go and look after this rabble of women, they will
do their work most incontestably wrong."
Without understanding, the mother did indeed go to the next cabin
at that moment when the breakfast was brought in. As soon as she had
turned her back, Elegant told the slave to set down the dish on the
table.
"You may go away. I shall call you when I have finished."
Ya-nei was watching, and came out from his hiding. On the dish there
were only two small bowls of vegetables mixed with meat, a bowl of
cooked green-stuff, and a little rice. Naturally, the young girl
was not in the habit of taking large quantities of food; but for her
lover, with his three bushels of rice a day, the matter was otherwise.
After their meal, he again glided under the bed, nearly as hungry as
before. She called the slave, and told her to bring in two more bowls
of rice.
Her mother heard this, and entered, saying:
"My child! You are not well. How is it that you want to eat all that?"
"The reason is not far to seek," she answered.
"I am hungry, that is all."
And her father, who had come to see the invalid, said:
"Let her be. She is growing, and needs nourishment."
When night came, and the evening meal was finished, she shut the door
and told her lover he could get into the bed again. But the poor young
man was suffering cruelly from hunger.
"Our stratagem," said he, "is admirable. But it is in one respect also
grievous. I cannot conceal from you that my appetite is considerable.
The three meals which I have had to-day seem scarcely a mouthful. On
such a diet, I shall starve before we come to Ch'i-Chow."
"Why did you not say so? I shall make them bring me more to-morrow."
"But are you not afraid of rousing suspicion?"
"That is nothing. I shall see to it. But how much would you need?"
"We shall never be able to obtain quite that. Ten bowls of rice at
each meal would not be enough."
Next day, when her parents came to see her, Elegant complained.
"I do not know what is the matter with me," she said. "I am dying of
hunger."
But her mother began to laugh:
"That is not a very serious affair. I will have more rice brought to
you."
But when the young girl said that she needed about ten bowls, the good
woman was startled. She again wished to remain near her daughter.
"If you stay here, mama, I shall not be able to take anything. Leave
me alone, and I shall eat more comfortably."
Everybody indulged her caprice. When the cabin was empty, she shut
the door and Ya-nei came out. Hungry as he was, he made the ten bowls
vanish like a shooting star, and did not leave a single grain. Elegant
watched him with astonishment, and asked him in a low voice:
"Is that still too little?"
"It will suffice," answered the other, drinking a cup of tea.
He hastened back to his hiding-place, while the young girl ate some
vegetables. Then she called the slaves, who came running up, wondering
whether she had been able to eat all that food. They looked at the
empty bowls and at their mistress's slim figure, and murmured as they
went away:
"What a terrible illness!"
One of them, in her anxiety, went to the father and showed him the
dish, suggesting that he should call a doctor as soon as possible.
And he, for his part, forbade them to give her so much another time,
fearing that she would burst.
At mid-day he went himself to speak to her.
She began to weep: her mother took her part; and they gave way to her.
The evening meal was just as large.
They were approaching Ch'i-Chow, and Ho Chang, who was really alarmed,
ordered his boatmen to cast anchor near the town. Early in the morning
he sent his steward to find the best doctor, and when the man arrived,
brought him on board and explained the case to him. They then went to
examine the invalid and to try her pulse. The doctor at length came
back with the father into the central cabin.
"Well? What is the illness?"
The other coughed, and at last said:
"Your daughter is suffering from lack of nourishment."
Her father was staggered:
"But I have told you that she ate thirty bowls of rice yesterday."
"Yet, but your daughter is still a child. She is apparently fifteen
years old, but that is equivalent to fourteen in reality, or even to
thirteen and some months. Her food accumulates in her stomach, but
is not assimilated. From this cause arises the fever which burns her
stomach and makes her imagine herself to be always hungry. The more
she eats, therefore, the more her stomach burns. In one month it will
be too late to cure her, and she will die of hunger."
"But how is she to be cured?"
"First, I shall make her digest what she eats. Of course, she must eat
very little indeed."
He wrote his prescription and went away. The servant went to get the
drugs, which were dissolved and boiled according to direction, and
finally presented to the young girl.
She said that she would take them, and as soon as she was alone threw
them out of the port-hole. Thereafter she continued to ask for ten
bowls of rice for every meal.
Every one on the ship was now discussing this extraordinary case.
Some said that they ought to call in sorcerers. Others thought that
religious men would do better, seeing that she had certainly been
possessed by one of those starving spirits which wander without
purpose in punishment for their sins, with a needle's eye for a mouth,
seeking in vain for food.
At the next town, Ho Chang summoned another doctor. After his
examination, mention was made of the former diagnosis, and he burst
out laughing.
"Nothing of the sort. It is an internal consumption."
"But what, then, is the reason for this hunger?"
"The hot and the cold principles are at variance in her, and
the resultant fire gives her continual opsomania. It is easy to
understand."
"But she has no fever."
"Outside she is cool, but she burns within. The malady is inside the
bones; and that is why it is not visible. If she had continued to take
the drugs which you have been giving her, it would have been difficult
to save her. I shall give her something to soothe her bowels. She will
then, of her own accord, refuse all food."
It need not be said that it was the same in this case as in the other.
All the medicines went down the river.
Meanwhile the two lovers continued to profit by the silence of the
night. Naturally, the young girl was at first, so to speak, passive
in the arms of the young man, who was himself bashful. But little by
little, penetrating further into the domain of pleasure, their amorous
intelligence redoubled with their rapture, and they forgot entirely
where they were.
One night a slave woke up, and heard a "tsi-tsi-nung-nung" and a
"tsia-tsia" coming from within, and then quick breathing. Inwardly
surprised, she next day told her mistress, and the mother, seeing that
her daughter was always of a brilliantly healthy complexion, began to
think this unknown malady a very strange one. She did not inform her
husband, however, but ran herself to see her daughter. The child's
face seemed to her to be more beautiful and animated even than
usual. She went out, without seeing anything which might confirm her
suspicion, and, coming back again after breakfast, began gently to
question her daughter on her ideas of marriage.
As they were talking, there suddenly came a snore from under the bed.
Ya-nei, after his efforts in the night and his morning meal, had gone
to sleep in his hiding-place.
Elegant's mother at once shut the door and, quickly stooping to look
under the bed, saw the young man asleep.
"Alas, how could you do this thing? And then frighten us with your
illness? Now everybody will know of it. Where does he come from? May
Heaven strike him dead!"
Elegant's face was purple with shame.
"It is all your child's fault. He is the son of the Lord Wu."
"Ya-nei? But you have never seen him! Besides, he was at the dinner
with your father, and we came away at midnight. How can he be here?"
Trusting in her mother's indulgence, the young girl confessed
everything, and added:
"Your unworthy daughter has dishonored our name and lost her
innocence. My crime is unpardonable. But it was the will of Heaven.
There had to be that storm to make us meet, and then destiny prevented
our betrothal. Our strength was too small for the struggle, and we
have sworn to love each other until death. I implore you to speak to
my father and appease him; for if he makes an uproar; there is nothing
left for me but to die."
Her tears fell like rain. And, while they were talking, Ya-nei's
snores sounded like thunder.
"At least make him keep quiet," cried the mother in a fury. "We can no
longer hear ourselves speak."
And she went out, slamming the door, while Elegant hastened to awaken
the sleeper.
"Really you might snore less loudly!" she said with impatience. "All
is discovered now."
When he heard this, Ya-nei's body was frozen with terror as if he had
received a drenching in cold water. His teeth chattered.
"Do not be afraid. I have asked my mother to speak for us. If my
father is angry, there will be time enough for us to die then."
The woman meanwhile had hurried to her husband, but there was a slave
with him, putting the cabin in order. So she waited, and the tears
rolled from her eyes. Ho Chang thought she was anxious about her
daughter's health, and reassured her:
"She will be better in a few days. The doctor said so. Do not disturb
yourself."
But she sneered at him:
"You have been listening to the flower words of old Wise-Wand. Better
in a few days! She would have to be ill first!"
"What do you mean?"
Since the servant was no longer there, she told him in a low voice
what she had seen and heard. Ho Chang's anger was such that his sight
was troubled. She begged him to calm himself.
"Enough! Enough!" he thundered. "This worthless daughter fouls the
very air upon our threshold. We must kill them both in the night, so
that none may know."
The woman's face became as the earth.
"We have already reached a ripe age, and this is the only flesh and
bone we have. If you kill her, what will be left to us? As for
Ya-nei, he is of a good family, he is intelligent, and well-built. Our
stations are identical and our houses equal. His only fault is that he
did not make a proposal, but rather forced everything in secret.
Yet so the matter is. Would it not be better to send him back with
a letter to Wu, requiring gifts of betrothal? We would lose all by
making a scandal."
Ho Chang's rage was already half spent, and he now let himself be
persuaded by degrees. He went out and asked the boatmen where they
were.
"We are approaching Wu-ch'ang."
"You will anchor there."
He then called his confidential steward and, explaining all to him,
gave him a letter. After this he went to see his daughter, who hid
herself under the blanket when she beheld him. He spoke no word
to her; but in a stern tone called out Ya-nei, who crept from his
hiding-place, saluted the older man, and said:
"My crime deserves death."
"How could a young man of your education commit such an act? My wife
has prevailed upon me to spare your life; but, if you would redeem
your fault, you must take my unworthy daughter as your wife. If this
is not your intention, do not count upon my pardon."
Ya-nei abased himself in ritual prostration.
"The honor which you do me is a reward which my conduct does not
deserve," he said. "I shall speak to my parents as soon as I return."
Ho Chang hurried him away, without leaving him time to speak to the
young girl again. She was clinging to her mother, and whispered:
"I do not know my father's intention. Could I not have a letter from
Ya-nei on his arrival?"
Her truly indulgent mother went and spoke to the steward.
The latter had already hired a boat, and, as it was night, the
intruder would be able to pass from one junk to the other without
being observed. They set out, while Elegant wept incessantly for
sorrow and uneasiness. We must now return to the family of Wu.
After the night of Ya-nei's departure, their boat had proceeded for
several leagues before the young man's absence was noticed. But when
they called for him, and his cabin was found empty, the souls of his
parents left their bodies. They howled their despair, supposing that
their child had fallen unobserved into the water.
They turned the ship about, hoping at least to recover the body;
but all searching was in vain, and they had perforce to resume their
journey in despair.
They had been at their destination for two days when Ya-nei arrived;
you may suppose that their surprise was only equalled by their joy.
They read Ho Chang's letter, and understood everything. They scolded
their son, and made a feast for Ho Chang's envoy. When the betrothal
gifts were ready, they sent them in charge of their steward, to whom
Ya-nei entrusted a secret letter for his Elegant.
Soon the time came for Ya-nei's examination at the capital, and he was
accepted. His father asked for a holiday, and the whole family went to
Kien-K'ang, where the marriage was celebrated. The fame of Elegant's
wisdom and beauty grew with the years, and the happiness of these two
was never dimmed.
_Hsing shih heng yen (1627),
28th Tale._
A STRANGE DESTINY
In epochs of deep peace
When days are lengthening,
The flute sounds and songs are heard
Among the drunken villages.
The Phoenix Car is said to be approaching
With the Emperor,
And each one turns his eye
To the splendor of that procession.
In the reign of Hui Tsung of the Sung dynasty, near the capital of
the East, on the borders of the Lake of Clearness of Gold, a new wine
pavilion had just been opened, under the sign of The Quick Hedge. Fan,
the landlord, and his brother Erh-lang, were the proprietors. Neither
of them was married; and their business prospered.
It was the week when Spring melts into Summer, and men walk abroad in
number to enjoy the freshness and beauty of nature.
One day Erh-lang roamed the lakeside, delighting in the soft air, and
saw, in front of a teahouse, a ravishing girl of about eighteen, in
whose face, which was as dreamful as the Night Star, flowered all the
blossoms of the time. He stopped, fixed to the ground with admiration
and already riotous with love. He could not take his eyes from the
rose radiance of this face, peach blossom against flawless jade; from
this slender body, from the rare golden lotus of these delicate feet.
A scarlet hibiscus in flower framed this phoenix against stirring
landscape of the great lake.
Alas! our emotions do not depend upon our will. The young girl
felt herself looked upon, and raised her eyes; her soul was at once
troubled, her child's heart secretly rejoiced. She thought:
"If I could marry this beautiful man, I should know many happy
moments. But, though he is there now, where will he be tomorrow? How
can I tell him how to find me again?"
Just then a seller of refreshments came by with his small vessels on
his shoulder. She called him:
"Have you a little honey-water?"
The merchant set down a bronze vase on the ground to serve her; but
she, with pretended clumsiness, upset the vase, and said to him:
"Never mind! Come to my house and I will pay for all. I will give you
my name and address."
Erh-lang pricked his ears, as she continued: "I am the daughter
of Lord Chou, who lives near the Ts'ao Gate. My little name is
Victorious-Immortal. And I pray you do not charge too much, for I am
not yet betrothed or married."
The young lover trembled with joy, saying to himself:
"These words are meant for me, I am sure of that."
The merchant was meanwhile protesting, and the young girl added:
"My father is not at home just now. But he is terrible, and you will
undoubtedly be prosecuted if you try to rob us."
Erh-lang earnestly desired to make himself known in his turn, and
being unable to think of any other expedient, he did as the girl had
done: asked for a bowl of cool water, and pretended clumsily to upset
the full jar. He then said: "Aya! Here is another misfortune! But it
does not matter. Come to my house, and you shall be well recompensed.
I am Erh-lang, brother of Fan. We are proprietors of THE PAVILION OF
THE QUICK HEDGE. I am nineteen, and no one has yet cheated me in my
business, I can draw a bow, and am not yet betrothed."
"Are you not a little mad?" asked the merchant, looking at him in
astonishment. "Why do you tell me all that? Do you wish me to act as
the go-between for your marriage? I am an honest man, and have never
cheated anybody."
Hearing her admirer's words, the girl rejoiced in her heart. She
suggested to her mother, who was sitting by her, that they should
go away; and rising to her feet, said to the merchant: "If you will
follow us, we will pay you at once."
But her eyes spoke in reality to the young man; who walked slowly
behind her, admiring the poise of her gait. In this manner they
proceeded until the two women entered their house. But the young girl
came back almost at once to draw aside the big door-curtain and to
look out at him as he passed. He went on walking to and fro, as if he
had lost his senses, and did not return to his house till evening.
From that particular day Victorious-Immortal remained so strangely
affected that she was quite unable to swallow a grain of rice, or even
to touch a cake. At last, one morning, she was too weak to rise. Her
mother ran to her bed.
"My poor child," she asked, "what is the matter with you?"
"I ache all over my body. I have pains in my head and cough a little."
Her mother at once thought of calling in a doctor; but, in the absence
of the master of the house and his servant, there was no man to go
on the errand. But an old female attendant, named Kind-Welcome, was
present and observed:
"The ancient woman Wang lives, as you know, quite close at hand. She
has helped more than a hundred children into the world. She can sew,
and she can act as go-between; but she can also feel a pulse and
diagnose an illness. Everybody calls her as soon as there is anything
the matter."
"That is true. Go and fetch her quickly."
Some few moments later the healer came and the mother began a long
explanation. But the woman interrupted her:
"I shall know all about it when I have examined the patient."
The sick girl put out a wasted hand, and the woman felt her pulse for
a long time. At last she said:
"You have pains in the head, and all your body aches. You are in
continual agony, and the earth is hateful to you."
"That is exactly the case," she answered from her bed. "Also I cough a
little."
"But what has caused this illness?"
As the girl did not answer, this wise old visitor turned to the mother
and the attendant, and signed them to go away. They dared not refuse,
and left the room.
"Now we are going to cure you. The illness lies in your heart, and
nowhere else."
"In my heart?" questioned the sick girl.
"You have seen a handsome young man, and he pleases you. Your
suffering rises from that; is it not so?"
"There is nothing of the sort," denied the other.
"Come, come! Tell me the truth, and I will soon find a means to save
your life."
Seeing a chance to reach to her desire, little Victorious-Immortal
decided to tell everything. When she had finished, the very old woman
said:
"Do not be troubled. I know one of his relations who has spoken to
me of him. He is intelligent and level-headed. I shall go and see his
brother, to make arrangements for your marriage, if you finally wish
to marry him."
"You know very well that I do," said the sick child with a smile. "But
will my mother consent?"
"Do not be uneasy. I have my methods."
She was already out of the room, and saying to the mother:
"I know what is the matter with your daughter. If you would like me to
make it clear to you, have two cups of wine brought in."
Kind-Welcome made haste to arrange all on the table. The healer drank
a draught of burning wine and, turning to the mother, repeated word
for word what the girl had confessed to her, adding:
"And now there is nothing for it but to marry her to Erh-lang, for
otherwise her death is certain."
"My husband will be away for a long time yet. I cannot decide without
him."
"You have only to make the arrangements. You need not celebrate the
marriage until after my Lord's return. She must be given her desire;
there is no other way of saving her."